one plan of conciliation has already been proposed, for which the City of London, foreseeing the certain ruin of other measures, has given thanks to its great and noble Jailor, as an earnest for the rest of the Kingdom. If Great Britain and America should come to one mind of peace, they may unite to crush those men who keep them asunder.

He then moved,

"That an humble Address be presented to his Majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give orders, that Letters of Requisition be written to the several Provinces of his Majesty's Colonies and Plantations in America to make provisions for the purposes of defending, protecting, and securing the said Colonies and Plantations; and that his Majesty will be pleased to order all such Addresses as he shall receive, in answer to the aforesaid Letters of Requisition, to be laid before this House."

Sir Cecil Wray seconded the motion: he declared he did it as it recurred to a system which had been in use before the present troubles had begun, namely, before the unfortunate passing of the Stamp Act, and wished all the rest of our disputes could also be put on the same foundation. He observed, in respect to the right of taxation, that the Parliament of Britain had no right to tax those it did not represent; that representation had originally been for the sole purpose of taxation, and that it was only by chance, and an usurpation by the people from the Crown, that the Representatives had acquired the rights of Legislation. This appeared from our ancient Parliaments; in which, after the Parliament had granted taxes, they applied, by Petition, to the Crown to remedy certain grievances, which the Crown sometimes did, by making an Ordinance for that purpose; and that, even in the most despotick German Governments, the Prince could not, at this day, impose internal taxes without the approbation of the States, or Representatives of the people. That even if Parliament had the right to tax America he should be against using that power; as, in that case, justice would demand that we should give to America an equal power of paying taxes; that that could only be done by opening the trade of the whole world, to America, in common with Britain; a measure which no one could wish to see adopted, as it would then be at the expense of the latter, and a very considerable defalcation ensue in its power of then paying the taxes it now does. That Britain, in his opinion, was, at present, low taxed, in comparison with either of the neighbouring Nations, or of what it was at the period before the commencement of the National Debts. That the quantum of taxes are not to be estimated by the sum of money raised, but by the proportion such sum bears to the ability of the persons taxed: for instance, if a farmer who, at the last mentioned era, paid one hundred Pounds a year rent, and now is enabled to raise three hundred Pounds more than the sum he could then, by the increased price of his Goods, he cannot be said to have his rent raised, but rather lowered, if his landlord makes him pay two hundred Pounds rent instead pf one. He next observed, how impolitick it was to undervalue the courage of those we were to engage with; mentioned the high spirit shewn by the people of Genoa, in driving out the veteran Germans, when raised by enthusiastick valour. He observed, too, that perhaps the character given of the Americans was as true of our own common people; that in all conflicts between them and the military, a very few muskets from a few red coats, had always dispelled the most mutinous; at the same time mentioned that the, cause of this was the total disuse of arms; for those very people, when once disciplined, became the best of Soldiers. In his opinion, the sole power this country ought to have over the Colonies, which was of necessity, not of right, vested in the British. Parliament for the good of the whole, should only be exerted in saying what the Colonists should not do, not what they should do; that, in particular, it was requisite for Parliament to have a watchful eye on the Navigation Act, and on all others which regulated the external commerce of all parts of our Dominions, as on those, and on our trade, depended the sole power of paying our taxes.

Lord North opposed the motion. He entered into the reasons for which the present measures had been adopted; and said that it could not, in the present state of affairs, betwixt us and the Colonies, be consistent with our dignity in the least to recede. The propositions made to Parliament against the measures adopted by the House, were very different from one another, and, therefore, inconsistent—Lord Chatham's, Mr. Burke's, and the present; and that Parliament having adopted his own, which were more consistent with the dignity and superiority claimed by Britain over her Colonies, it would now be very unparliamentary to adopt new measures which would, in effect, overturn it. He objected to Royal Requisitions, as projected, as he could not see the difference betwixt such a requisition and the demand by Charles the First of Ship-money; as it was the same thing whether we asked for Ships, or Money to build Ships. He observed, that if we adopted this proposal, it would not bring us back to the state we were in before the Stamp Act passed; nor could the idea of the gentleman, who seconded the motion, of Parliament's having a right to say what the Colonies should not do, take place without the consent of the Colonies; as in the instance of burning the Tea, assaulting the Magistracy, destroying the King's Stores and other acts of violence, the Colonies had been lately guilty of, which they would say they had a right to do, notwithstanding our prohibition of them.

Sir Cecil Wray said he did not mean that this measure would bring us back to the state we were in with the Colonies before the Stamp Act; but approved of the measure, as being similar to those in practice before the passing the Stamp Act; and that, as to the Prohibitory Acts, he did not mean such as the noble Lord had mentioned, which were only acts of self-defence against the execution of unjust, tyrannical laws, but regulations of external trade, and things of that nature, which, for the good of the whole, it was the duty of Parliament to regulate.

Mr. T. Townshend observed, that though the present measures were adopted by a large majority in Parliament, yet, if they did not succeed, the noble Lord would find himself responsible; that it had been frequently said, that the disturbances in America arose from the advice and speeches made in England; that this he would call calumny, unless some gentleman would get up and avow this doctrine, and produce convincing proofs that this was so.

Lord W. Campbell answered, that he had said so in debate, and he had a right to do so: he had letters in his pocket proving it; but the Papers on the table were sufficient to convince every gentleman of it, without applying to private proofs.

Mr. Lyttelton observed, that the quarrel which brought on the late war was not for a quantity of derelict land in America, but that the French had endeavoured, by their encroachments, to obtain another Port on the Sea-coast, Quebec being shut up by the ice for many months in the year, and Louisiana by no means a flourishing Colony; that this Port and communication would have been by the River St. John; that, therefore, the war must be considered as an American war.

Sir G. Savile shewed, that the three different propositions mentioned, had been made at different times; that when one could not be obtained, a second, (something different, according to the rule of Parliament,) and now a third, again differing, were made; that this did not shew a difference of measures, but only a desire of obtaining something in favour of ourselves and the Colonies. He expressed his surprise that the noble Lord should liken requisitions of this nature to Ship-money; the dispute in the latter case was not the demand, but the manner of enforcing that demand under the sanction of law.

Mr. Vyner was surprised at two assertions of the seconder of the motion; the first, that Britain was not high taxed; he did not know what could be called so, if the present state was not. Did we not pay three Shillings in the Pound? Was not every article of life taxed? As to the second, namely, the cowardice of the people of England, that too he utterly denied: they were, indeed, inferiour to regular Troops, but that these Troops were Englishmen, and as brave as any in the world.

Mr. Tuffnell attempted to shew, that the war, though begun in America, was the plan of the French Minister, but that he did not mean it should have taken place so soon as it did.

The question then being put on the motion,